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Poland is to press ahead with building a new canal to bypass a stretch of land and water controlled by Russia in order to show its neighbour that Poland is a "sovereign country".

The canal will cut through a narrow strip of land separating the Vistula Lagoon in the north-east of Poland and the Baltic Sea.

At the moment all maritime traffic from the Polish port of Elblag has to go through Russian controlled waters to reach the Baltic.

The decision to cut across the spit comes despite environmental concerns and fears the canal could undermine its appeal as a popular tourist destination.

Part of Nato’s and the EU’s eastern border is 100 per cent controlled by Russia, and this is something that is unacceptableJaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Law and Justice

The spit ranks as one of Poland’s leading holiday locations, where Poles enjoy sailing and the peace of its long sandy beaches. But Polish leaders believe security concerns and the need to shed dependency on Russia trump environmental considerations.

“By building this canal we will demonstrate that we are a sovereign country,” said Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Law and Justice, Poland’s governing party, on a visit to Elblag on Wednesday. “This is for political-military interests.”

“There is an extremely important argument in favour of building the canal,” said Marek Grobarczyk, the Polish minister for maritime trade.

“Part of Nato’s and the EU’s eastern border is 100 per cent controlled by Russia, and this is something that is unacceptable,” he continued, adding that in the current “geo-political climate” environmental considerations could be skipped.

Work on the £180million project, which will be 5,881 yards long and 87 yards wide, should start in 2018 and be completed by 2022.